With the remit of helping small and medium sized developers "go global", Facebook is to move into the mobile games publishing arena, unveiling the venture at Casual Connect in San Francisco.
The social network which boasts 800 million monthly mobile users, 260 million of which play games claims its looking to support developers who "dont yet have the upfront resources for a paid strategy", with an initial batch of ten titles already signed up.
One stop shop
"Through the program, we will work with select game developers and provide promotional support for their games in placements across our mobile apps," detailed Facebook software engineer Victor Medeiros on the platform's blog.
"This program is designed to reach people who already play games on Facebook with new games that may interest them.
"We are invested in the success of these games, and in exchange for a revenue share, we will be collaborating deeply with developers in our program by helping them attract high-quality, long-term players for their games.
"We'll also be sharing analytics tools and the expertise we've gained from helping games grow on our platform for more than six years."
An indie venture?
Facebook's move comes hot on the heels of similar ventures designed to unify mobile games with social platforms in Asia the likes of KakaoTalk and Line currently enjoying much success in the mobile gaming sector.
However, while Facebook claims it's looking to help smaller outfits gain a global presence, titles from major outfits such as Gameloft, Gamevil and WeMade Entertainment have made the firm's library of launch games, suggesting Facebook is keen to ensure the platform has mass-market potential.
Indeed, one of the early replies to Facebook's blog post announcing the venture sarcastically praises the firm for handing "indie publishers" like Gameloft "another way to promote their games."
Facebook is currently on the look out for new games for the pilot program, requesting developers apply to join via its website.
[source: Facebook]
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